Archbishop Rummel High School's president and principal quit Friday

The president and principal of Archbishop Rummel High School in Metairie quit Friday, marking the third time in six weeks that top leaders of a New Orleans area Catholic school have abruptly departed.

The Times-Picayune archiveGathered at a 2008 event were leaders of Archbishop Rummel High School, from left, Principal Thomas Moran Jr.; Vice President Michael Scalco; Sister Kathleen Finnerty, the superintendent of the Archdiocese of New Orleans schools; and President Michael Begg. Archbishop Gregoy Aymond fired Finnerty this year, and Begg and Moran abruptly resigned Friday. Aymond appointed Scalco to run the school.

Rummel's faculty was informed in a late afternoon e-mail message with letters attached from Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory Aymond, school President Michael Begg and Principal Thomas Moran Jr. About three hours later, alumni and others in the Rummel community were informed by e-mail and the letters were posted on the school's website.

Begg has been a Catholic educator for 30 years. He came to Rummel as principal in 2003 from Archbishop Shaw High in Marrero and moved up to president in 2005.

In his letter, he alluded to the possibility of working with Catholic Relief Services, a group with which he took a 2010 trip to the Middle East.

Moran has worked in Catholic education for 17 years and has been Rummel's principal since 2008. He said he has decided to return to the business world, a career he left in 1995.

The archbishop said he has appointed Michael Scalco, the school's vice president and a 1967 Rummel graduate, to be interim president and principal. "A search committee will be formed in September in order to appoint a permanent administrator," Aymond said.

Aymond began focusing on elementary and secondary education soon after becoming Roman Catholic archbishop of New Orleans in 2009. Enrollment in Catholic schools in the archdiocese is down 19 percent from pre-Katrina levels, mirroring a national slide in Catholic schools, and in December Aymond fired the top three officials in the archdiocesan schools office.

Rummel has seen its own enrollment fall, from about 1,350 students before Katrina to 890 in the 2010-11 academic year.

It is the third local Catholic high school recently to undergo a leadership shakeup.

At St. Augustine High in New Orleans, a controversy that began over the issue of paddling students led the owners, the Josephites order, to fire the school president, the Rev. John Raphael, on June 4.

In the spring, the Christian Brothers order that runs De La Salle High School in New Orleans overhauled that school's governing board, after which school President Kenneth Tedesco fired Principal Gina Hall. On June 30, Tedesco suddenly quit.

Rummel, too, is affiliated with the Christian Brothers order.

The Times-Picayune archiveA special Mass was held at Archbishop Rummel High School to celebrate its reassociation with the Christian Brothers in 2009.

The Rummel developments are odd in that they come just six weeks before the start of the 2011-12 academic year.

Dominick Impastato III, president of the Rummel Alumni Association, applauded the changes. He said he doesn't know why Begg and Moran resigned "but replacing them is the best thing that has happened to Rummel in many years."

He said the school community "is so excited about what we've got in store at Rummel. The resignation of these two men is one of the most positive steps in our school's history. The new interim principal is an alumnus, and we feel the leadership of a man like that is the kind of leadership we need moving forward."

"All I can say is that Archbishop Aymond has made it very clear to the alumni that he is the biggest supporter Archbishop Rummel has. We are 110 percent behind him. He has Rummel moving in a positive direction."

He added: "This is not a De La Salle situation. The parents, alumni and the community as a whole is so re-energized and excited, it's palpable."

Lynn Becnel, a parent and Booster Club board member, was more cautious.

"I am completely shocked," she said Friday night of Begg and Moran's departures. "These men bleed Rummel blood. I've worked very closely with them for the last four years."

"They were not perfect like I'm not perfect. But I do believe with all my heart that they had the best interest of Rummel in their minds and hearts."

Becnel said she does not know what could have led to their resignations but said enrollment has suffered in recent years because of Hurricane Katrina and the economy.

She said she is relieved that Scalco will serve as interim principal, expressing "the utmost faith" in him.